How Ticks Affect Dogs

By Rena Sherwood

Instructions

Lyme Disease

Step 1:
Lyme disease is not transferable to humans. The dog goes lame, has hot or swollen joints, is reluctant to move and has a fever. If not treated, the dog's kidneys will fail.

Canine Ehrlichiosis

Step 1:
Transmitted by the brown dog tick, this illness can kill your dog. Sudden weight loss, listlessness and fever are the first signs, followed by bleeding of the retinas and nose, the dog's joints swelling up, and finally, death.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Step 1:
Symptoms include fever, coughing, swollen joints, problems with coordination and sudden openings on the skin. The dog will eventually suffer a heart attack or shock, both of which can kill the dog.

Canine Anaplasmosis

Step 1:
This bacteria travels in tick saliva. Symptoms are the same as for Lyme disease, but there is also vomiting and seizures. It's commonly called "dog tick fever."

Blood Loss

Step 1:
If a dog is heavily infested with ticks, then he can go into shock just from the blood loss. This is especially a concern for puppies and toy dogs.

Resources

More Puppy Pages

Dog Diseases That Are Caused by Ticks

Ticks can transmit a number of diseases to your dog. Because they attach themselves so firmly and stay on a dog for so long, ticks are capable of infecting dogs with such diseases as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and canine ehrlichiosis...

Ticks are often the culprit when a dog comes down with a serious disease, having transmitted the organism responsible for the ailment through their bite. The types of diseases dogs can get from ticks in some instances are the same as humans can acquire...

Ticks attach themselves to your dog and feed on his blood. As a result, they transmit diseases directly into his system. Tick-borne diseases share many common symptoms. If your dog is exhibiting symptoms that could be attributed to a tick-borne disease...

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